Rain Brings Flooding To Volusia Water Damages Homes, Road Near New Smyrna

September 18, 1985|By Al Truesdell and Pat LaMee of The Sentinel Staff

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — More than 2 inches of rain was dumped on east Volusia County late Monday and early Tuesday, flooding homes near State Road 44 and eroding part of a road, county officials said.

The rain, combined with northeasterly winds, caused a slight amount of beach erosion, although there was no serious coastal damage, said Volusia County Public Works Director Tom McClelland.

The National Weather Service reported 2.3 inches of rain fell in the Daytona Beach area by 5 p.m. Tuesday. A rainfall gauge at New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport, however, indicated more than 3 inches fell in that area, city officials said.

No serious flooding problems were reported in other Central Florida counties.

Volusia public works and state transportation officials were concerned about a portion of Glencoe Road, near S.R. 44, 2 miles west of New Smyrna Beach. About 30 feet of pavement had washed off the road, allowing water to erode part of the ground under the remaining pavement, McClelland said.

About a foot of water flowed over 100 yards of the road, which was closed to through traffic Tuesday. The rapidly moving water flowed through woods and poured into the yards of residents near S.R. 44, seeping into about nine homes, McClelland said.

The yard of Henry Bigaj, 60, whose home fronts the highway 1 1/2 miles west of New Smyrna Beach, was under about 16 inches of water, causing his property to resemble a small lake.

He and his family moved furniture from the den and utility room, which were flooded, into the parlor. He said they tried to stack the furniture on boxes or other things in case water seeped into that room.

They were unable to save the rug in the den. ''The carpet is shot,'' Bigaj said.

His wife, Delores, said the backyard septic tank was flooded, making it impossible for the family to flush the toilet.

McClelland said the storm washed away 12 to 16 inches of beaches. The protective dunes of loose sand that had built up since the Thanksgiving storm were washed away. Although no serious damage resulted, the beaches could be vulnerable if another storm brews immediately, he said.

The forecast for today calls for only a 30 percent of rain, according to the weather service in Daytona Beach.

McClelland, along with other county and state Department of Transportation officials, toured Volusia from the Flagler County line to the north to Canaveral National Seashore to the south in the sheriff's department helicopter.

The rainwater flowed toward the Turnbull Creek area, west of New Smyrna Beach. If rains continued, McClelland said a timber bridge at Otter Creek Road was in danger of being wiped out or dammed up.

In Edgewater to the south, City Administrator Connie Martinez said there was widespread flooding in the Wildwood subdivision, which forced the city to close the entrance to the area.

The Edgewater Community Center on Riverside Drive was opened by Civil Defense officials early Tuesday to provide accommodations for residents of the flooded areas.

But Martinez said residents preferred to stay in their homes until the street and culvert flooding subsided. Roads in the western portion of the Florida Shores subdivision also were under water after heavy rains Monday night and Tuesday morning, she said. Some residents were stranded in their homes until the rainwater began to drain off, she said.

''Our culverts are filled. Our drainage canals are filled and with the river tides pushed so high by the storm, there just isn't any place for this rainwater to go.''

Some residents told city officials their garbage cans had floated away and others said their

parked cars had rainwater in them early Tuesday. No major damage was reported in homes, said Martinez.

New Smyrna Beach Utilities Commission crews worked through the darkness Monday night and before dawn Tuesday trying to clean salt spray from electric lines on the beachside in order to stop frequent blackouts. Insulators coated with salt sparked ''like the Fourth of July,'' said Utilities Director Ron Hagen.

Some residents along Sunset Drive, located on Turnbull Bay in New Smyrna Beach, said the bay was so filled with rainwater and pushed by driving winds that it was coming within 30 to 50 feet of their homes. There were no reports of damage or home flooding, New Smyrna Beach officials said.

The Toronita beach approach in the unincorporated area north of Ponce Inlet was closed due to flooding, McClelland said. There was no major damage in Bethune Beach, he said.